Political prisoners in Tartous Central Prison have started an open hunger strike since the beginning of March. SNHR fears their health and life amid sectarian threats from other prisoners.
The hunger strike reasons:
1- “The Anti-Terrorism Court” and the “Court of Criminal Terrorism” in Damascus, discussed in earlier reports, issued arbitrary provisions where it issued its verdicts against 36 political prisoners. The sentences ranged between 12 years in prison and life sentences due to confessions taken under torture while the prisoners were in the state security branches before they were transported to Tartous Prison.
2- The prisoners are suffering from discrimination from the prison’s administration first, then from criminal Alawitte prisoners.
After the hunger strike started, a prisoner, relative of Bashar Al Assad, called “Suliman Al Assad”, who is detained under the charge of killing an officer, agreed with several prisoners who support the regime to hit and torture the prisoners-on-strike and used racist speech while the prisons’ administration was watching. This matter triggered more fear and terror which caused some of the prisoners to halt their strike.